Take My Hand
by brookeb303
Summary: Peter Pan is stabbed with Rumplestiltskin's dagger but there may still be hope for him. After all, True Love's Kiss is said to be able to break any spell. Darling Pan. One-shot.


**A/N: So this is my first ever fanfiction, just a quick little oneshot. I got this idea from a spoiler picture and decided to try it out since I really, really enjoy this ship.**

**The title is lyrics from the song Neverland by VanLadyLove**

"Rumple!" Belle yelled as the boy turned to face the man she loved. Rumplestiltskin pulled a dagger out of his sleeve without a second thought, like he had been prepared for this to happen all along.

And just like that, the scene was over. Rumplestiltskin stepped back with his dagger and Peter Pan fell to the ground. There was an ephemeral moment of stunned silence before applause erupted throughout the crowd. Everyone cheered, all except Wendy, who simply stood there staring at Peter's body with disbelief, numb to the celebrations happening around her.

Of course she understood why they were all happy. Peter had a nasty streak. He caused more harm than good. Wendy knew that. But she also knew a side of him that no one else got to see. She saw his kindness, his longing for adventure, and his selflessness. None of these people saw him save her from dreamshade or teach her to be careful around mermaids. They didn't know that he comforted her when she cried and then gave her permission to return to her family.

She was pulled out of her wandering thoughts by a gentle hand on her shoulder and she quickly wiped at a tear that had managed to escape her eye. She looked up to see that it was Baelfire.

"Come on, Wendy! We're all going to Granny's to celebrate!" he said cheerfully.

"Oh, great!" she said, trying her best to pretend she was happy. "I just… I have to… There's something I need to do and then I'll meet you there."

He looked skeptical, but before he could question it, his son called him over. Baelfire gave her one more look before chasing after the young boy. Everyone else was already ahead of them, which meant Wendy was now alone.

She waited a few extra seconds before running to Peter's body. She collapsed onto her knees beside him right in the middle of the street where they had left him.

"Oh, Peter!"

She finally allowed the tears to fall

She knew Peter lived dangerously. She had even voiced her concerns for him many years ago. He had simply laughed, as if the idea of death was so impossible that it was more of a joke than a reality.

"_Peter, I'm serious! You need to be careful,"_ she had told him when he laughed.

"_In order for me to die, someone would have to catch me. It's all about the chase," _he told her matter-of-factly. _"Death is like a sport. If you beat it you win. And Wendy, I always win."_

He wasn't supposed to die. He was supposed to live forever.

Wendy felt a drop of rain and knew she couldn't stay much longer. It was only a matter of time before someone might come looking for her.

She looked down at Peter. There were still traces of mischief on his face and for some reason that made her cry harder. Not knowing what else to do, she placed her hands on each side of his face and kissed him. It was brief, if it hadn't been she might never have been able to leave him.

"Thanks for that," she heard someone say as she pulled away and it made her jump. She looked down and saw that Peter's eyes were open and the color had returned to his face. She put her hands on his face once more and sure enough, he was warm.

"Peter! You're… You're alive!"

He looked at her like she was mental.

"But you were dead! I saw it!"

This made him smile. "I told you, Wendy. It's all just a game."

She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders that she hadn't even known had been there. Suddenly she was kissing him about a dozen times. She didn't think she'd ever be able to stop. Finally, Peter started laughing and struggled to sit up. "I ought to die more often."

She slapped him on the arm. "Don't you ever do that again."

He simply shrugged and stood up. His apathy towards the frightening ordeal was obvious.

"Where is everyone?

"They're off celebrating! Everyone thinks you're dead, Peter!" she yelled as she stood up, hoping to get through to him how serious the situation was.

"No fun in that. We should go change that."

He started to walk off but Wendy grabbed his arm.

"Peter you have to go! Don't you see? You're safe now. They're only going to try to keep killing you."

"_Try_ being the key word."

"No, _kill_ being the key word. You need to leave. Go back to Neverland where you'll be safe. Now, before they come looking for me and see you here!"

He seemed to consider it before turning towards her. "Fine, I'll leave. But only if you'll come with me."

"What?"

"Come back to Neverland with me, Wendy. There'll be no rules and no grownups, just us."

"Peter, I couldn't possibly-"

"Why not? We could have an adventure every day. We could run the land and there'd be no one to stop us!" he said excitedly, his face lit up with the thought of all the fun.

"You always do this!" Wendy yelled at him, throwing her arms up with frustration. "You always need to complicate things with your schemes that are so out of the question-"

"Why is it out of the question? You took a chance before when you came to Neverland."

"And look how that turned out!"

"What about before? Before the island was in danger and before I was in a war with the old man and his crew of halfwits."

Wendy tried not to, but she smiled. He was right, before everything happened with Rumplestiltskin and Henry, things were very different; _Peter_ was different. That was the boy she had fallen in love with. He wasn't concerned with immortality or ruling the world. He was just a boy who had gotten a little lost seeking a thrill.

"I hate to be bothersome but time doesn't stand still here so we do need to be going…"

"I'm scared," she admitted accidentally. It was a quiet confession; she had hoped he hadn't even heard it slip out.

But of course he heard. Peter was always aware of what was happening, always ten steps ahead of everyone else. And where Wendy was concerned, she had found that he was even more tactical.

Peter studied Wendy closely before he answered. He seemed to consider a few things before she watched as his usual façade vanished. When he spoke, he wasn't Peter Pan anymore, he was just Peter.

"You don't have to be scared, Wendy. Not while I'm with you." He reached out his hand and looked at her, waiting to see if she would take it.

Wendy looked back in the direction that everyone had left in, knowing full well that she should just turn and go after them. But instead, she stepped closer to Peter and locked her hand with his.

In an instant, Peter Pan was back and there was a cocked eyebrow and a mischievous grin on his face.

"Let the games begin."


End file.
